After being one of the biggest movie stars of the 1980s and ’90s, Demi Moore had mostly stepped out of the acting limelight in the 2000s and 2010s. Then, in 2024, she had the kind of comeback film that most actors can only dream of with “The Substance.” Primarily a psychological body horror thriller, the movie was also a statement on the way Hollywood is often all too eager to unceremoniously dispose of its older female stars in favor of the latest generation of sexy young talent — and the lengths one of those older stars might go to in order to compete.
“The Substance” got the longest standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival that year, and was later nominated for Oscars for best picture, best director, best actress, and best original screenplay, while scoring a well-deserved win for best makeup. It didn’t take long before it was being hailed as Demi Moore’s best movie, as well as the latest feather in the cap of Margaret Qualley, who has become quite prolific in the genre of psychologically twisted tales. And now, just in time for this year’s spooky season, “The Substance” has hit HBO Max, where it immediately entered the streaming service’s 10 most watched movies in the top spot.
The less you know before you watch The Substance, the better
It’s fascinating to learn the behind-the-scenes details of how Moore transformed into a monster for “The Substance.” But if you haven’t seen it yet, and don’t know exactly what type of monster we’re talking about, don’t look into it any further. This is the kind of movie that is best enjoyed when you know as little about it in advance as possible. If you know the movie’s basic premise, and have the stomach for some of the most visceral body horror seen in years — the type typically reserved for low-budget, B-movie camp — then you have everything you need for a viewing of “The Substance.”
In addition to their physical resemblance making it an easy sell that they are essentially the same character at different ages, Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley do stellar work here playing two sides of the same person — increasingly at odds with the decisions of the other and the devastating consequences those decisions have for “both” of them. Some of those consequences result in a climactic body horror extravaganza that proved divisive, but it’s impossible not to give writer-director Coralie Fargeat props for having the guts to fully “go there.”